to whose flow of spirits we had often been indebted, seized a pack of cards, and proposed to tell Helen's fortune. I was too deeply intent on watching the looks and gestures of two of the party, to listen with any interest to the lively nonsense uttered by Miss Fortescue; she had spread the cards upon the table, and, assuming an oracular air, commenced the usual jargon about letters and losses, lovers and legacies. Helen's fortune seemed to proceed very prosperously, until, upon the second arrangement of the cards, a little start of affected horror announced some unexpected and portentous combination. Whether Miss Fortescue's eyes had been as keen as mine, and, in consequence of certain perceptions, she desired to convey a serious hint under the mask of this gay trifling, or that her expressions, framed by a chance, directed random shots to their true aim, I never learned; but a few words produced an extraordinary effect upon the party. I merely distinguished the following exclamations: "A distant quarter of the globe-a voyage-deserted children—treachery-danger from a dark woman-an elopement and death."-Here the speaker was interrupted by a loud shriek; Mrs. Trevyllian had fallen senseless on the floor. This unfortunate incident broke up our party. I returned home, full of melancholy thoughts, and was greeted upon my arrival at my lodgings by an express from the country, acquainting me with the dangerous illness of one of my nearest relations, and the consequent distress of his wife and daughter, who earnestly required my presence, in order to counteract the plans of a designing person, from whose machinations they had reason to fear the loss of the greater portion of their property. I could not be deaf to such an appeal; and, although I felt a mournful conviction that my services would be equally required in London, I could scarcely be justified in neglecting an obvious duty to attend to the presentiments of a highly-excited imagination. Perchance, during my acquaintance with the Trevyllians, an acquaintance replete with anxiety and conjecture, I had senselessly indulged in a series of phantasies, and by dwelling upon trifling incidents had invested them with undue weight and importance. I had always been somewhat of a dreamer, and being conscious of a disposition to build romantic structures upon slight foundations, I distrusted my own judgment and determined to dismiss these morbid apprehensions from my mind. But they would not vanish at command; anxious thoughts filled my heart during the whole of my journey, and several times I could scarcely repress the feeling which prompted me to return to London.

TRIAL BY JURY IN THE COURTS OF CIRCUIT IN INDIA.

(From a Correspondent.)

In the year 1827, a regulation was promulgated at Fort St. George, for the gradual introduction of trial by jury into the administration of the higher branch of the criminal law under that presidency; but an opinion having been conceived unfavourable to its probable effects, its operation was stayed, and, so far as I am aware, it has, hitherto, remained a dead letter in the statutebook. The adoption of this mode of trial before the courts of circuit appears, however, to be recommended by so many forcible considerations, as strongly to urge the expediency of submitting it to the test of fair experiment

The melioration of the condition of the great body of our native subjects, has ever, I believe, been an object of solicitude, both with the Indian authorities at home, and with the governments abroad; though it must be acknowledged that the success of our endeavours to promote their welfare has not

always been commensurate with our wishes or expectations. The very existence of a foreign dominion, is, in itself, depressing to the character of the people who live under it; and the depression thus produced must unavoidably form an obstacle to the realization of the benefits which, in other circumstances, might, with greater certainty, be expected to result from well-considered schemes of improvement, pursued by their rulers. Situated, therefore, as we are in India, the counteraction of this debasement of the character of its inhabitants is clearly an object of paramount importance, in order that substantial advantage may be derived from any plan which may be employed for the amelioration of their moral and political condition; and, in this view, it is indispensable that we should treat them with liberality and confidence. In point of natural talents, they are not inferior to ourselves; there are multitudes among them who are fully competent, by intelligence, to execute the office of jurors; and, in my opinion, we shall at once inflict unmerited wrong upon them, and forego a highly promising means of their improvement, if, by the abandonment of the projected measure, we virtually declare that we deem them unworthy or incapable of sitting as arbiters upon the conduct of each other. In knowledge of the general character of their nation, they must necessarily far surpass us; precluded as we are, by prejudices on their part and dissimilarity of habits on our own, from those intimacies of private life, in which, rather than in the formalities of public business, are to be traced the circumstances, feelings, and associations, whereby the minds of witnesses are liable to be influenced and their testimony biassed: and the more favourable opportunities which they enjoy for observing one another, in their several spheres and vocations, must give them a corresponding advantage over us in estimating the private character and credibility of individuals among them. We cannot, moreover, cope with the natives in the knowledge of their vernacular tongues. We may, indeed, so far master their various dialects, as to qualify ourselves for holding common conversation, or transacting ordinary business; but we cannot expect to be so thoroughly skilled as themselves in those niceties of language, by which the sense may sometimes be materially affected, while there is little apparent change in the expression. Their exact acquaintance with the usages and practices of the various sections into which they are divided, must also, when combined with their other qualifications, prove a special advantage to them in appreciating the force of circumstantial evidence, in cases where direct proof is wanting. With respect, therefore, to the knowledge of the languages of the country, and of general and particular character, as well as of the various incidents that are fitted to produce a sinister influence on testimony, and of the peculiar circumstances on which the weight of collateral proof will sometimes depend; cr, in other words, with regard to the capability of judging of what is probable or improbable, and of knowing when to believe and when to discredit the depositions of witnesses, the superiority must, I conceive, be yielded to the natives. On the other hand, however, it must be admitted that they are prone to corruption, and apt to be warped in their judgment by prejudices springing from caste and other sources; but who that reflects on the mighty disadvantages under which they labour, with reference to the principles of religious belief, can look otherwise than with compassion on the failings exhibited in their conduct, or without earnestly desiring that all proper and allowable means should be used to raise them in the scale of rational and accountable beings? Notwithstanding, then, the drawbacks to the complete success of the measure,

the hope may surely be cherished that honourable and confidential employment, such as would devolve upon the more respectable and intelligent among them as jurors, would operate beneficially in augmenting the force and extending the influence of moral principle; and, although it would be impossible to provide altogether against the betrayal of trust by individual members of a jury, yet no inconsiderable security against the effect of such misconduct upon the interests of public justice, would be found in composing the jury of different castes or sects, and in making the verdict to depend upon the voice of the majority of jurors. The prejudices of caste, too, are not everywhere equally strong and numerous; and it would, of course, be advisable to make the first trial of the jury system where circumstances might be most favourable to its introduction; such, for example, as the ceded districts of the Madras territory, where the great distinction of right and left-hand castes has little existence. Under the present plan of criminal judicature, under the government of Madras, the important business of delivering the zillah jails is performed by the judges of circuit, in conjunction with the moofties, or expounders of Mahometan law, who have rarely, I believe, more than a very scanty acquaintance with the dialects of the Hindoos; and under this system, perjuries, it is to be feared, are awfully common in our courts. But, under the proposed scheme of jury trial, it might fairly be anticipated that witnesses would feel the risk of detection in falsehood to be so great as to deter them, in a considerable degree, from its commission; and, in all probability, an interest would be excited in our judicial proceedings far deeper and more extensive than what is experienced now. Thus, it might be hoped, the laws would become more generally known, and punishment, it is reasonable to expect, when awarded consequent upon conviction of guilt by a jury, would be deemed more ignominious-fresh vigour, it may, therefore, be conceived, would be imparted to the laws; and the tone of public morals would be improved.

If, therefore, the foregoing views are just, the advantages of introducing trial by jury may be summed up as follows: viz. greater accuracy of finding the guilt or innocence of persons charged with crime, in cases of circumstantial, conflicting, preconcerted, or reluctant evidence; the repression of perjury, and the increased efficacy of punishment as an example; some invigoration of the internal sense of right and wrong; the attraction of more general attention to our judicial proceedings, whereby the laws would become better understood, and the violation of them more dreaded; and, as the result of the whole, the improvement of public manners. Such changes could not be looked for immediately, or in perfection, from the contemplated measure; but it is my impression that it would be favourable to all of them.

The eligibility to serve on juries, should, I think, be as extensive as possible without doing violence to native prejudices; and I should imagine that Mahometans and different castes of Hindoos might act together. Converts to Christianity ought, undoubtedly, to be eligible, so far so their religion is concerned; and, indeed, as our general policy holds out no inducement to the interested profession of the Christian faith, it ought not assuredly to impede its progress, or, in anywise, to disparage its sincere professors.

A MADRAS CIVIL SERVANT,

MISS ROBERTS' "SCENES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF

HINDOSTAN."*

WE should have been somewhat embarrassed in the discharge of our critical functions, whilst passing judgment on this work, had not the opinion we honestly entertain of its contents been confirmed by impartial and very competent authorities. "Many and excellent works have lately come under our notice, illustrative of India," says the Calcutta Literary Gazette; "but we do not know when our attention has been more forcibly attracted than by a series of sketches published by Miss Roberts in the Asiatic Journal. Light, animated, and graphic, they describe manners and people with spirit, and scenery with a tone of poetical feeling, which alone can do justice to the magnificence of the Eastern world."

A personal knowledge of Indian scenery and manners, a faculty of quick and accurate observation, a correct taste, and a remarkable felicity in description, form an aggregate of qualifications in our fair coadjutor, which could scarcely have failed to make her draughts of Eastern scenery and society faithful, animated, and popular. Miss Roberts has, moreover, evinced tact and sense in avoiding all topics of controversy and litigation; without compromising truth, she has wisely abstained from making her papers the vehicles of party-spirit: a merit not always found in works of

this kind.

A London journal, in noticing this publication, has justly pointed out its value as the means of familiarizing the people of England with India and Indian topics, which, as it is remarked in that paper, is a necessary preliminary step to bringing public opinion to bear upon the government of our vast Eastern dependency. Few persons, comparatively speaking, are attracted to books by a pure love of science. "Light reading" constitutes the "study" of the many; and this is a work which affords a very agreeable menstruum for administering that kind of knowledge which seems unpalatable by itself. The Arabian Nights Entertainment, gross and crude as its materials are, has done more than any other work to diffuse just notions of Oriental manners in Europe. It is disparaging to the European understanding to suppose that the tales would have been less popular had they been compounded of real incidents, not wild and incredible fictions: the gorgeous apparatus and costume forming the chief attractions.

We trust, therefore, that the favour evinced towards these papers by the readers of this Journal, is but an earnest of the more extensive popularity they will experience in their present form, and that the fair author, for whose talents we entertain the highest esteem, will have no reason to complain of a dearth of public patronage.

Scenes and Characteristics of Hindostan, with Sketches of Anglo-Indian Society. By EMMA ROBERTS. Three Vols. London, 1835. W. H. Allen and Co.

FLOWERS FROM A GRECIAN GARDEN.

THE collections from the Anthology by Bland and Merivale have tended to familiarize the English reader with some of the graceful and delicate trifles of the Grecian muse. But, though the garden has been visited by several diligent and tasteful gatherers, neither are the flowers all wreathed, nor the honey all exhausted.

One of the most beautiful of these poems is a Hymn to Health, of which Johnson has taken notice in the Rambler. "There is," he says, among the fragments of the Greek poets, a Hymn to Health, in which the power of exalting the happiness of life, of heightening the gifts of fortune, and adding enjoyment to possession, is inculcated with so much force and beauty, that no one who has ever languished under the discomforts and infirmities of a lingering disease, can read it without feeling the images dance in his heart, and adding from his own experience new vigour to the wish, and from his own imagination new colours to the picture. The particular occasion of this little composition is unknown; but it is probable that the author had been sick, and in the first raptures of returning vigour addressed Health in the following manner.

I.

*